The real money in software comes from selling the same thing to as many people as you can. The more customization you have to do, the lower your potential prof

The real money in software comes from selling the same thing to as many people as you can. The more customization you have to do, the lower your potential profits are. At one time I worked for a medium-sized software company in the process of going public. One of the metrics analysts were keen on was the ratio of license revenue to services revenue. The lower that ratio is, the less of a product company you are and the lower your potential (and the crappier your IPO). If all of your work is custom you're no better off than guy who installs kitchen cabinets for a living, in the sense that every new dollar comes in only as a result of new work. If, for some reason, the customer doesn't pay up you have very little to show for your effort.